Regulation
Major, Proposed CEQA Amendments Sent to California Governor Jerry Brown
In the waning hours of its just-concluded session, the California Legislature passed and sent to Governor Jerry Brown a package of bills that, if signed into law by Brown, will represent the most significant amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in many years. I believe it’s likely Brown will approve some or all …
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CONTINUE READINGA dangerous bill
California is known in the United States for its aggressive environmental laws, some of the most aggressive in the United States. One of the key reasons for that reputation is the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). CEQA is similar to the federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in that it requires a public review of …
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CONTINUE READINGTen Fatal Flaws in the “Regulatory Uncertainty” Argument
Given its obvious flaws, the whole “regulatory uncertainty” argument has the feel of something invented by some clever political operative rather than a sincere policy view.
CONTINUE READINGWhen Agencies Want to Get Sued
The Friday afternoon before Labor Day announcement by the White House that it would not lower the ozone standards under the Clean Air Act has received (rightly) a whole lot of criticism. There’s been a fair amount of speculation among environmental law observers about the legality of the decision (including Dan). What’s interesting is that …
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CONTINUE READINGTwo weeks of protest against Keystone XL ends Saturday
Two weeks of civil disobedience and protest against the Keystone XL pipeline ends this Saturday (Sept. 3), with a rally and final sit-in. Over 1,000 people have been arrested, including my former professor , Gus Speth. The protestors want President Obama to deny a permit to construct a pipeline to bring oil from Canadian tar …
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CONTINUE READINGIs Cap and Trade Unfair?
I should probably start by putting my cards on the table. I’m not really an advocate of cap and trade as compared with other forms of regulation. What I care about is getting effective carbon restrictions in place, whether they take the form of cap and trade, a carbon tax, industry-wide regulations, or something …
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CONTINUE READINGA Judicial Win for PACE Clean Energy Financing
Finally, some good news from the courts for advocates of PACE financing for energy efficiency and renewables. Federal Judge Claudia Wilken in the Northern District of California issued a ruling late Friday on the Federal Housing Finance Authority’s (FHFA) motion to dismiss a challenge from the Sierra Club, Placer and Sonoma Counties, Palm Desert, and …
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CONTINUE READINGLibertarians for Environmental Red Tape!
Libertarians have long castigated environmental review statutes, such as NEPA and CEQA, for trampling private property rights, the theory being that they make developing property so difficult and expensive that they are tantamount to disrupting those right. That’s why it was so odd to see the Pacific Legal Foundation advocating for more prolix environmental …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA Emmett Center Assessment of California’s Cap and Trade Regulations
In the wake of the financial market meltdown and liquidity crisis of 2008, some opponents of a cap and trade program to regulate greenhouse gas emissions have argued that such a system could lead to the kind of market manipulation that led to the 2008 crash. The UCLA School of Law Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment today released …
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CONTINUE READING“Please Don’t Murder Me”
Musical accompaniment to Justin’s post below. “I cut my deck to the Queen of Spades, but the cards were all the same”: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhqyg_dTaTg] More information here.
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